After the CSA - What's left?

 

Above you see my kitchen table filled with all the containers of what I have left from my CSA. I picked up my last box just under 2 weeks ago, but between things that I froze and things that have naturally long shelf-lives, I've got quite a bit left.

Here's the full list of what's on the table:

½ c blueberries

1.5 c rhubarb

6 bell peppers

6 Hungarian wax peppers

2 jalapenos

1 Carmen sweet pepper

2 c snap beans

2 eggs

½ gallon apple cider

just under ½ gallon apple cider vinegar

1.5 pounds sweet potatoes

1 pound white potatoes

1 butternut squash

2 delicata squash

1 niche pumpkin

3 onions (2 red, 1 white)

8 oz Boltonfeta cheese

1 bunch fresh parsley

2.5 cloves of garlic

Many of these items will need to be used soon, preferably before the end of the year. Since I’m heading home to my parents house for the last couple weeks of 2010, I’ll probably be bringing a few of these items with me. I’m thinking the squashes and the garlic will need to come along. The potatoes and the cider will be gone as will the cheese and eggs. But most of the frozen items will be good until at least February, if not longer.

All in all, the CSA was one of the best investments I’ve ever made. I’ve made tons of dishes that I never would have otherwise. I even figured out how to eat beets in a way I can enjoy them (which is nice because they are pretty and healthy).

Mostly, though, I’ve just enjoyed discovering what grows in Western Pennsylvania and the best ways to eat it. My interest in local, seasonal food is higher than it’s ever been – it’s gone from passing interest to obsession – and I intend to keep eating locally as best I can during these winters months before the CSA begins again. The farmers around here just grow stuff that’s too delicious not to gobble it up all year long.

I hope you’ll keep coming back to see what I cook next.

Inspired by the English

A popular traditional English tea sandwich is watercress - a microgreen hailed as a superfood for its high nutritional value. It has a long history in England and many followers, including a website dedicated solely to this food: watercress.co.uk.

My beloved CSA box, which I picked up yesterday, did not include watercress, it did, however, include arugula microgreens. These are in the same family as watercress along with brown mustard and chia. Yes, chia, like the pets. I had no idea what to do with my arugula microgreens. I'd eaten a watercress sandwich and grown a chia pet, but neither of these came to mind as I stared at the little bag of greens with heart-shaped leaves and long thin stems. It was only after I did some research that I figured it out. And since eating a Chia Pet is inadvisable, I made a variation on the watercress tea sandwich:

Arugula Microgreens Sandwich (minus the second slice of bread, which is necessary for elegant eating)

Arugula Microgreens Sandwich
A good snack with a cup of tea.

Spread a light layer of cream cheese on a piece of white bread (I used a thin sliced but chewy Italian) and sprinkle a handful of greens on top. Cover with a second slice of bread. Enjoy.

If you like, you could add cucumbers or butter instead of cream cheese, but I really enjoyed that sandwich. I made a second one as soon as the first was gone.

CSA – Community Supported Agriculture. What is it?

Local.

Sustainable.

Fun.

By signing up to participate in a CSA, you are signing up for a share of what a farmer or group of farmers produce(s) during the growing season. Usually, this means that you will receive a box or basket of produce each week for a prescribed period. All the food in the box will be fresh (picked that day or within a few days before) and local (and usually organic or chemical free as well).

The contents of the box vary by the CSA and the season. For example, here in Pittsburgh with the Penn’s Corner Farm Alliance, I received boxes filled mostly with lettuces, eggs, cheese, and stores from root cellars and greenhouses early in the season. This week, lettuces are still abundant but are mixed in with goodies like blueberries and peppers. When my next box comes, I’m hoping for sweet corn.

Often, you’ll also have the opportunity to visit the farm and see where products are grown. One of my greatest childhood memories is wandering the farm of “our farmer” from the CSA my mom signed us up for each summer. He had painted his mailbox in a tie-dye pattern, had a daughter about my age, and was always eager to show off his rows of lettuces, blueberry patch, and greenhouses.

And, as you’ve seen based on my previous posts and recipes, a CSA will challenge your eating habits. Salads are a constant, but in addition I experiment with soup, stir-fry, bread, and any number of other dishes based on being given so many vegetables – including at least one each week that I’ve never heard or at least never cooked with. It’s probably too late in the season to sign up for a CSA this year, but keep them in mind for next year and share your recipes and new experiences.